The Beauty, the Geek, and the Danseur
by AutumnDreamer
Summary: Edward the Geek has had a crush on Bella for two years so Emmett bets him to finally ask her out. Bella sets Emo Alice up with her ex. Emmett meets his match somewhere unexpected. Was it meant to be? Or did someone give them a push in the right direction?
1. Turning the Tables on Emmett

**A/N: **Many thanks go out to the following: My beta Bridget. Forever_Liz who gave me the original concept and let me run with it. And finally, to Miztrezboo's parents who made this all possible. No, really, I was asked to participate in a dealio for Miztrezboo's birthday. Otherwise, I would have never asked Forever_Liz for an idea for what was supposed to have been a 1,000 word drabble which is going to end up as a five chapter mini fic.

**THE BEAUTY, THE GEEK, AND THE DANSEUR**

Edward the Geek has had a crush on Bella for two years so Emmett bets him to finally ask her out. Bella sets Emo Alice up with her ex. Emmett meets his match somewhere unexpected. Was it meant to be? Or did someone give them a push in the right direction?

Rated M for language.

**Chapter 1: Turning the Tables on Emmett**

"Today is the day, little brother." The irritating voice jogged up along side of me as I made my way to the cafeteria. "Today is the deadline."

"Stop reminding me, asshole."

"Today is the day you ask Bella out or you automatically have to shave your head," he said, recalling to me the terms of our bet that had my stomach in a knot for a week now.

"Emmett, unlike you, I have more than a two second memory and have certainly remembered our little bet," I said. "In fact, I've had nightmares over it. I hope I don't throw up on Bella's shoes."

"Make Bella Swan yours, you little bitch geek." He stopped in the hallway and put me in a head lock, ruffling my hair with his gigantic hand.

"Let me go, asshole!" I struggled to free myself, but Emmett was much stronger, not to mention taller and bigger, than me. Instead of wasting my energy fruitlessly fighting him, my fingers found a spot on his side that made him sound like that stupid "Tickle Me Elmo" toy. Wiggling at my touch, he released me and stopped laughing as I straightened my glasses.

"Man, don't tickle me in school, that ain't cool!" he said, scanning the hallway for any of his friends but finding none. We both picked up our dropped paper-bagged lunches. "Then again, you with a shaved head ain't gonna be cool either. I don't think you can really rock that look."

"Oh, screw you," I said. "I don't think you're going to rock a pink tutu or leotard."

"I ain't worried." He blew me off with a wave of his hand. "If you actually get the courage to ask Bella out, in all likelihood she's going to say no. Did you see the last guy she went out with? Jasper Whitlock? You, dear brother, are no Jasper fuckin' Whitlock."

"Yeah, well, he ain't no Edward mother fuckin' Cullen, either."

Emmett started laughing. "Oh ho ho, talkin' big there! Did you finally get some courage, cowardly lion?"

"Maybe," I said. "But I don't think you've found a brain yet, scarecrow!" He reached out for me, probably to place me in another head lock, but I ducked out of the way and escaped his heavy handed grasp. I stopped in the door way to the cafeteria, and my eyes landed on Bella. Usually she was surrounded by her friends, some of the top echelon of Forks High, but today she was alone.

"Where's the rest of her crew?" Emmett asked. "She's always surrounded!"

"Does that make you nervous, big guy?" This was a _huge_ advantage for me!

"Pft, as if. Like she's going to say yes to you." He may have claimed not to be nervous, but the tone of his voice and the look on his face spoke volumes. I had to be careful and make sure he didn't try to interfere with my plans.

Taking another look at the woman of my dreams, I took a deep breath and released it before turning back to my brother. "Okay, as per our agreement, no sabotage."

"Yeah, yeah." The look on his face didn't convince me he wouldn't sink to undermining my intentions. "No sabotage."

"I mean it!" I said. "That was part of our agreement."

"I know, I know!" Emmett rolled his eyes at me. "The clock is ticking, geek boy."

I took another calming breath and found myself walking forward, towards Bella—my crush of the last two years. Reaching her table, I stopped and cleared my throat.

She looked up at me from her salad and smiled. "Hi, Edward, can I help you with something?"

"We noticed that you were sitting by yourself today," I tried to sound confident and not like the lame idiot I was feeling inside. "We wondered if you wanted some company."

"We?" she asked, slightly confused. "Who's the giant?" Bella nodded in Emmett's direction and I tried not to laugh. Unlike me, Emmett was well known and hung with the cool crowd in school.

"This is my brother, Emmett." I elbowed him, and he turned his head in her direction. "Emmett, this is Bella. We have Chemistry together."

"Yo, Bella, how you doin'?"

Inwardly, I cringed at his greeting. "Don't mind Em, he's a tad retarded and hasn't learned how to speak in full, complete sentences yet."

"Oh, I see!" Bella said. "It is your responsibility to see that he gets lunch every day?"

"Something like that." I told her, faced Emmett's direction, and then spoke slowly. "Emmett, be a good boy and sit down."

Emmett reached out and smacked me in the back of the head. "I'm not retarded, damn it!"

"Aw, he's so cute!" Bella gushed.

Emmett crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh, I am much more than cute, little lady."

"Does your mommy tell you that you're her handsome man?" she asked. "Yes, you are!"

I took a seat next to Bella while Emmett sat across from us and flashed me an evil glare. "Where's everybody?" I asked. "Your table is usually full."

"You don't know what today is supposed to be?" Clueless, I shook my head at her question. "Today was deemed Senior Skip Day, so all my friends decided to head to Port Angeles for a little road trip."

"Why didn't you go with them?" Emmett asked, his mouth full of food.

"It's too close to the end of the year," Bella explained. "Too close to exams. I could've missed something important today if I had gone off to Port Angeles."

"We have a _huge_ test in Chemistry today." Personally, I was not looking forward to the test at all. It was going to be tough. "That would have been kind of disastrous for you to miss."

"I know!" Bella took a bite of her apple. "They all made fun of me since I didn't want to miss school."

"Good Lord, you're both geeks." Emmett mumbled and leaned his head against the table.

Bella winked at me before reaching out and patting the top of Emmett's head. "It's okay, you rest now. Your head probably hurts from all the thinking you've been doing."

"Bella, please stop petting me!" Emmett growled. He reached around, grabbed her hand, and removed it before raising his head off the table. "Contrary to popular belief, I am not an idiot."

I laughed at the scene playing out before me. "I'm going to get a drink." Emmett announced abruptly and rushed off to the lunch line. As usual, he cut the entire line, grabbed a drink, and shoved the money at one of the two cashiers, Cass or Shannon, and didn't bother to wait for his change.

"This is working out better than I had hoped," I said as I watched Emmett be stopped by one of his friends. "Thanks for helping me out."

I felt Bella's hand touch my knee under the table and a nest of butterflies felt like it had been released in my chest. "You're very welcome."

I placed my hand over Bella's and enjoyed the feeling of touching her. I wanted to take her into my arms and hold her, but I knew that would be crossing the line. "Are you sure you don't want to be an actress?"

"No desire to be an actress at all." Turning to her, I saw that her gaze was transfixed on me as her fingers squeezed my knee. Her eyes briefly shifted to another location before returning to me and releasing her grasp on my knee. "He's on his way back."

The loss of contact was disheartening but needed if we were going to pull this off. "So, what were your friends going to do in Port Angeles that was so important?" I asked as Emmett reclaimed his seat across from us.

"The same ol' things they could do on the weekend," she said. "You know, go to the mall, window shop, have lunch, and go to the movies. I haven't been to the movies in a while."

I was getting increasingly nervous at Emmett's silence. Curious, I tried to catch a glimpse of his expression without moving my head. He was actually sitting there staring at the two of us with his sandwich frozen in his hand. "Me neither, it's been like, eons." Emmett started coughing, but we both ignored him. "Would you maybe like to go sometime?" I asked. Emmett's coughing fit got louder and I kicked him under the table.

"You mean, like as in a date?" Bella asked. How I wished this was real and not some act for Emmett. Speaking of my brother, he was practically on the floor feigning choking and we continued to ignore him. Because we weren't paying him any attention, no one else bothered to either.

It took all the courage I had to utter the following words. "Sure, if you'd like it to be. Would you like to go on a date with me?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Emmett's now non-coughing head popped up over the top of the table. All the years that he had embarrassed and picked on me were finally going to bite him in the ass. Revenge was going to be _so_ sweet.

Bella nodded in understanding. "Yes, Edward, I think I'd enjoy going on a date with you."

"Would Saturday be okay with you?" I asked nervously. Even though this was one big fake charade, I wanted to play it out right and not screw anything up. "In my opinion, Friday night would be too rushed going after school."

"I couldn't agree more!" she said a little too enthusiastically. "We could take our time on Saturday. I'd like to get to know you more. I know who you are and we've been lab partners in Chemistry, but I don't know the real Edward Cullen."

"Sounds like a plan then." We continued with our conversation, egging Emmett on in the process. He finally got up off the floor and banged his head against the surface of the table before staring at us and slapping his hands down.

"This is like, against the laws of Geekdom or some shit." He practically cried the words. "You're hot. You can't date him!" He pointed at me sharply.

I felt Bella's fingers against my face as she turned my head toward her direction and spoke her speech for Emmett, but her eyes were trained on me the entire time. "Edward is a very nice guy who is intelligent and articulate. He's also quite hot and a well-mannered gentleman. Why can't I date him?"

_I'm hot?_ _Damn, she's a fabulous actress!_

"You can't do this, Bella! He's not one of us! He's not popular!" Emmett pounded a fist against the table.

We had agreed to no sabotage. I kicked him under the table again. "You're out of line, Em. Remember?"

Emmett shifted so I couldn't reach out and kick him anymore. "Bella, are you feeling ill or something?"

I knew she wasn't ill, but I was starting to become downright hot and bothered. She was still touching me; her left hand was now cupping my cheek, forcing me to look at her.

"I'm not ill, Emmett, in fact, I'm feeling pretty damn good right about now," Bella smiled at me, and I felt dizzy and woozy. She continued to address Emmett while staring directly at me. "I like Edward. Deal with it."

My heart did flip flops in my chest, and I didn't know how I was going to cope. Bella moved nearer to me, and I felt her hand urge me closer toward her. She bit her lip for a moment as she angled her head and closed the short distance between us. Bella pressed her lips against mine and kissed me as her fingers caressed my cheek. Under the table, her other hand reached out and found mine. I squeezed it gently, as a sign of thanks, but she interpreted the gesture differently and deepened our kiss, opening her mouth and darting her tongue into mine.

Oh, Jesus Christ, Bella Swan was tongue kissing me in the Forks High cafeteria! I prayed that I would never wake up from this wonderful, fabulous, stupendous, delightful dream. Her lips were so soft and she tasted like the apple she had eaten earlier. Bella's hand slowly moved from my cheek, down my neck, and curled into my hair. Something that could only be described as an electrical charge started at my neck where Bella's hand rested and spread throughout me.

_This was not a part of the plan. _

"I am going to be so ill!" Emmett's voice cut through my dream, and I pulled away to see Bella sitting in front of me. Her hand fell from my cheek and onto my lap, caressing my hand with hers.

_No, this wasn't a dream. Bella Swan did just tongue kiss me in the cafeteria._

On Wednesday, when I had talked to Bella and asked for her help, I hadn't quite expected for her to kiss me today. That was the farthest thing from my mind. The most I expected was payback for all the years Emmett had teased me. Emmett wasn't a horrible brother, but he could be an asshole when he felt like it. He picked on me over my geekiness, but if someone else had done the same thing, he would have popped 'em one.

When I walked into the library Wednesday afternoon after school for a tutoring session, Bella was at a nearby computer typing away. I sat and waited… and waited for a tutorial appointment that never showed. It was beyond annoying that my fellow classmates would ask for help but wouldn't show up for their scheduled appointment. I would need to tell the tutoring coordinator—and my best friend Angie—that the last minute appointment was a waste of my time. Angie had been in such a rush, I hadn't even gotten the student's name that needed help. Bella and I were the only two in the library besides the librarian, and I knew she didn't need help with Chemistry. She was my lab partner in AP Chem and to be honest, she was slightly better at the subject than I was.

Glancing at my watch again, I decided I would leave in two minutes if my appointment didn't show. I had a feeling they wouldn't, so I put my books in my bag and waited. Staring at the clock, my view was interrupted by Bella's angelic face.

"Hi, Edward." In a surprising turn of events, Bella sat down next to me. "Was someone a no show?"

"Yeah," I said. "They've got two minutes and then I'm out of here."

While Bella and I had known each other for years, we weren't exactly what you'd call friends. We ran with different crowds. Bella was pretty and popular. I was, for lack of a better phrase, a geek. I didn't walk around with a pocket protector and taped glasses like the geeks of old, but my grades were important to me and I was smart, although I tried not to flaunt it. Bella was more in my brother's league. He was popular too, and the two of them often ended up at the same parties—at least that's what Emmett had told me. Sometimes Emmett would try to break me out of my shell and urge me to crash a party with him, but I usually refused. Getting drunk at some strangers house and having to haul my brother's ass home was not my idea of fun.

"I love your t-shirt." she said, pointing to me. Glancing down at it, I remembered what I had worn this morning. It was orange and in black lettering across the chest it proclaimed, "My hard disk is bigger than yours." "I don't have a hard disk, so yours is most definitely bigger than mine," she said with a wink. "Although I know the hard disk in my computer at home is most definitely smaller because my computer is a piece of crap."

We ended up talking about computers and before I knew it, twenty minutes had passed. In those twenty minutes, I had felt so at ease with Bella. Whenever I saw her in Chemistry I was nervous and bumbling, trying to retain any amount of coolness I might have attained. I walked with her to the parking lot and we stood outside her truck, talking some more.

"Bella, I know we're not exactly friends, but I wanted to talk to you about something." My gaze was nervously trained to the ground. "See, I have this stupid bet with Emmett. Would you, um… would you fake going out on a date with me so I don't have to shave my head?"

"_Fake_ going out on a date with _you_?"

Oh, great, this had been one huge mistake. I could tell by the tone of her voice. She was more than a little turned off by the thought of even faking a date with me. "Um, sorry, never mind, it was stupid." I stepped back from her, ready to run to my car when I really wanted to dig a hole and bury myself in it. "I'm going to be so damn bald soon."

"No, wait, Edward, would you please explain a little bit more?" She stepped toward me, and I stopped backing up.

"Bella, I've had a crush on you for the last two years." When the words flew out of my mouth, a weight had been released from my chest. I had expected her to laugh, but she didn't. I was glad she didn't laugh at me because that confirmed that she was a good person. Rambling on some more, I explained how two weeks prior, I had made a stupid bet with Emmett. I was going to man up and ask Bella out. If she said no, then I'd have to shave my head. On some off chance that Bella actually said yes, Emmett would have to take a minimum of five ballet lessons.

Why ballet lessons? Personally, I thought it'd be funny as hell to see my hulk of a brother in a leotard. Maybe it'd give some humanity toward others.

"Emmett can be a jackass to you sometimes," she said. "So I'm in. If you get to see him in a tutu, you better take an incriminating photo so I can see it too! Let's get him back for picking on you all the time."

"What? You'll pretend that you'll go out on a date with me?" I felt the need to double check that we were talking about the same thing. "Won't you ruin your reputation?"

"Reputation?" Bella laughed. "I don't care." Bella went on to tell me about how she felt about most of her so-called friends. They were shallow and self serving, ready to drop someone at the drop of a hat for no reason. "Maybe I need my reputation ruined so I can get rid of them."

I had heard that the following day was going to be celebrated as Senior Skip day by many students. With our big Chemistry test that afternoon, I was not skipping out. As much of an asshole Emmett could be, I knew he wouldn't skip because tomorrow was the deadline and he'd want to be there to witness my major embarrassment.

"You and Emmett aren't twins, right?" Bella asked.

"Hell no!" I said, holding back laughter. "That's like that movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito as twins. Emmett was held back in kindergarten."

Bella started giggling. "Sorry, I just find that highly entertaining for some reason."

"I razz him about it all the time."

We continued talking and set forth our plan. Since all Bella's friends were going to be out of school tomorrow, I'd approach her at lunch. It'd be the only time that Emmett would be able to actually see Bella agree to a date with me. We were going to basically wing the rest of it, but the important part was that I was going to ask Bella out and she'd say "yes" in front of Emmett.

But this kiss, it wasn't planned. I didn't ask Bella to kiss me to prove that she had said yes. I would have never asked her to kiss me in school in front of everyone. I would have never embarrassed her that way, but here we were, in the middle of the cafeteria and she was kissing me. My lips parted from Bella's, and I immediately felt the loss of contact. Opening my eyes, I forced myself to close my mouth, but I couldn't help but stare at Bella. She had the biggest smile on her face and I wanted to remember that look and the feeling I was experiencing at that very moment for the rest of my life. Kissing me was sure to ruin her reputation and maybe ruin some small part of her life, but I wanted to have every detailed engraved in my mind. She left her hand in mine and I continued to hold it, relishing the feeling of her skin against mine.

Emmett climbed up off of the floor and sat down. "I think I need to go to the nurse's office and lay down."

"Feigning sickness, ballet boy?"

"I'm going to need proof that your date actually happened!" he said, pounding a fist on the table. "Proof, bro!"

He got up from the table and left in a huff. "I love it when he sulks."

"Me too."

While my gaze was trained on my brother's retreating form, Bella was still staring at me. "Okay, he's gone, you can stop pretending now." I opened my palm so Bella could be free of me, but she didn't move away. Her hand was still clasped in mine.

Bella leaned forward and whispered in my ear. "Edward, you asked me out, I fully expect for you to take me on a date."

"Emmett isn't here—"

"I know," she said, placing her lips against my neck. The hair on the back of my neck felt like it was standing up as a silent salute to her. "I meant what I said, Edward. I like you." My heart was beating so rapidly, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. She finally turned away from me and gathered her things. Standing up, she grinned at me. "I'll give you my number in Chemistry later so you can call me. I need to know what time to be ready on Saturday."

She turned and walked away from me. I watched her because I was so used to only being able to watch Bella. I… this… wow!

Oh, my God! I had a date with Bella Swan! More importantly, I had a _real_ date with Bella Swan!

* * *

**A/N:** If you've read my stuff by now, you know I'm a comment whore. I beyond love 'em. They make me smile and right now I'm depressed and could use some smiling.


	2. Squealing Bella and Emo Alice

**Disclaimer:** I'm not Stephenie Meyer, I just like to mess with characters she created and make them do asinine things.

Thanks to Lisa for pre-reading and to Bridget, my lovely lovable beta.

Thanks to everyone who left reviews and added it to their alerts. The reaction to this little fic caught me off guard.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Squealing Bella and Emo Alice**

As I walked away from Edward, I resisted the urge to turn around to catch a glimpse of his face. I knew if I did I'd totally give myself away by the smile that was plastered on mine. The moment I turned the corner out of the lunch room—and his vision—I started off running toward the nearest bathroom.

"Oh, my God!" Throwing my bag into the corner, I jumped up and down, squealing the entire time. "He asked me out! He asked me out!" I stopped and stared at myself in the mirror and saw a crazed woman, but frankly, I didn't care and started jumping up and down again. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The door to the stall behind me opened up, but I couldn't see anyone. A voice startled me and I turned around quickly, almost knocking myself to the ground in the process.

"Please tell me you're not having some kind of orgasmic experience here in the bathroom all by yourself." It was no wonder I hadn't seen anyone when the door opened. I was considered a giant next to Mary Alice Brandon. The top of her black spiky-haired head barely reached my shoulder. Her face was blank and emotionless as she spoke. The clothes she wore were all the same color and matched her dark hair. She always seemed so unhappy, never cracking a smile from what I saw.

"No, sorry, I'm just excited." Mary Alice made her way over to the sink and washed her hands. At least she had good hygiene. I hated it when other girls used a stall, did who knows what, and then walked out without washing their hands. She dug a lipstick out of the pocket of her trench coat and reapplied it to her half-stained lips. The color was a dark, deep burgundy. "Do you wear any other color besides black?"

She pointed to her lips. "Yeah, I like to expand my horizons now and then."

"Emo much, Mary Alice?"

"Just Alice, thank you, Isabella."

"Just Bella, thank you, Alice. What's your damage? You haven't like tried to kill yourself once a month or something, have you?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Of course not." She rolled her eyes at me. "That would be stupid."

"Then why all the black and sourpuss?" Alice probably thought I was a pest. "There's an entire rainbow of colors out there."

"I know, I have some of them in my closet," she said with a slight smile. "I choose not to wear them. Black fits my mood much better."

"I know we're not really friends, but you can talk to me if you want," I offered tentatively, knowing more than likely she'd turn me down. "No pressure."

She cocked her head to the side quizzically and stared at me. "Things just haven't been going right for me lately. My parents are being assholes. I don't know what I want to do with my life because even if you go to college and get a degree, there's no guarantee that you'll find a job with it. And to top it off, I found out my now ex-boyfriend had been cheating on me during most of our relationship."

"Ah, all that black matches the black cloud that's been hanging over you."

Her eyes grew big in shock at my statement. "Exactly."

"Your parents are probably worried about you," I explained. "Take the basic courses at the Community College until you figure out what you want to do. Ditch the emo girl look because it's not the true you and then go out and find a new guy or at least open your heart up again to the possibility. Not all guys are jerks."

"Is that why you're so excited about this _date_ you've been asked out on?"

"Yes, I am very excited!" Alice probably thought I was overly enthusiastic about my date, but I had good reason to be excited. I had liked Edward for a while now but always assumed that he was with Angie Weber. If Edward wasn't with Emmett, he was with Angie. Not that my observation meant much because Emmett was Edward's brother, so I knew the two of them weren't together in more than a brotherly fashion. Once I saw Edward and Angie holding hands in the hallway and grew jealous. The next day I tried to control myself when I saw him walking down the hallway with one of his arms draped around her shoulders. If the two of them were indeed a couple, they had a bit of an odd relationship. I never saw them kiss or hug on campus. Not once. But they were always together, talking and laughing, in close contact with one another. Maybe they didn't like overly dramatic PDAs? Or maybe my overactive imagination was working overtime and they weren't a couple? Could I really have a chance with Edward? I needed to get up the nerve and find out!

Once I was woken to the idea of them being platonic friends, I started to stalk Edward at school. I became all consumed with finding out if they were together or not. Frankly, I was surprised he hadn't turned around and told me to stop following him. No, seriously. I was lucky that I didn't have a restraining order slapped on my ass yet. I must've been channeling my father, the chief of police, because Edward, Emmett, and Angie never seemed to notice me. I hung back far enough so they shouldn't be able to see me but was close enough to over hear their conversations and catch their body language.

I shook my head in frustration. I couldn't believe I'd become a damned stalker. If I started taking pictures of him and hanging them up in my room, lighting candles, I was seriously seeking psychiatric help on my own.

As I continued to observe Edward and Angie together, I remained confused about their relationship. Were they together? It was killing me! On numerous occasions I had tried to talk to Edward during Chemistry and steer the conversation toward more personal matters. He always changed the subject or never gave too much away about himself. I never understood why because I wanted to know everything about him.

On Wednesday morning, during my sleuthing, I had parked myself in front of a computer in the library. Edward was sitting at another computer nearby talking to Angie about his tutoring schedule. I thought it was kind and thoughtful of Edward to take the time out to help his fellow students.

"Hey, Ang, whatcha doing for your birthday?" he asked her.

"Um, my parents said they were going to take me out to dinner in Port A, but that was two weeks ago and they haven't mentioned it since." She spit out the words nervously.

"I want to do something for you, but I don't know what." Edward pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his pointer finger. It was so unexplainable to me, but I'd be damned if I didn't find that move of his sexy as hell. "I mean, if your parents are already taking you to dinner, I don't know if you want me to take you too."

Crap, I must've jumped the gun about their relationship. They were together!

"You don't have to do anything for me, Edward." Angie shifted in her seat and sorted through a stack of papers. I noted that their body language was different. He was more composed while she was nervous.

"Why can't I do something for my best friend on her birthday?"

Best friends! That was it! That was why they were always together but never overly affectionate with one another. She was the female version of Emmett, minus the dirty mouth, smart ass attitude, and fun partying ways. Wait, if you took away all those attributes, she was nothing like Emmett at all. She was his best friend who happened to be a female.

My newfound knowledge unnerved me. Edward wasn't with Angie, and I was sure he wasn't dating anyone else. But what did he think of me? We had known each other for years but weren't exactly friends. We were more like acquaintances.

So I continued to stalk him like the pervy creep I had turned into. Seriously, I was _this close_ to calling the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation for myself.

It was that day, outside of the boys' bathroom, that luck was on my side. I had walked out of the girl's bathroom, which was right next door, and pulled out my water bottle to fill it at the water fountain. My ears perked up when I heard the distinctive voices of Edward and Emmett from the boys' bathroom. I always thought it was weird that the bathrooms didn't have doors, but rather a short curved corridor like at the mall, but hell, now I thanked whatever nut job that designed this school.

"Oh, for the love of God, would you ask her out already?" Emmett was chiding him. "Get her out of your system."

"I can't, Em." Edward's voice sounded so defeated.

"Why the hell not, Chicken Shitward?"

"I am _not_ spending the last few weeks of my high school career being humiliated because I asked Bella Swan out."

_Hold the freakin' utility belt Batman! Did I hear that right?_

"How do you know she'd say no?" _Go ahead Emmett, encourage your brother and show me that you're not always a jackass._ "Have you ever tried?"

"Are you insane?" Edward's tone was different now. I wasn't used to hearing him sounding so defensive.

"I'm not insane, but I'm ready to smash your head against the sink, little brother."

"Emmett, have you ever liked a girl that you knew was so far out of your league and you knew you never had a shot in hell with her?"

_Why in the world would he think that?_

"Um, yeah." Emmett's short response and lack of a follow up smart ass remark was not his usual style. "I think at one point, most guys go through the same thing, E."

"Then you should understand where I'm coming from. If I ask Bella out on a date, my freakin' world tells me that there's a ninety-nine point nine percent chance of her laughing in my face. I'd rather end our relationship as kinda, sorta friends leaving high school than having to figure out how to avoid my own lab partner for the next month."

I didn't want to be just Edward's lab partner. And I most certainly didn't want to be just kinda, sorta friends with him. It wasn't enough. I wanted to be his world.

"I dare you to ask Bella out."

"Jesus, Em, we're not in fourth grade anymore."

"No, we're not in fucking fourth grade anymore." Hearing silence, I backed away toward the girls' bathroom just in case they were headed out and in my direction. "We're adults and sometimes we have to man up and do shit we don't want to do. Learn from our mistakes and shit."

"Where is my brother and what have you done with him, you alien freak of nature?"

"Shut it. I dare you to ask Bella out. If you don't, you have to shave your head. If you ask her out then… I… mmm, what do I have to do?" Edward didn't say a word, but I heard his laughter echoing from the bathroom. "What is it?"

"You have to take and complete five ballet lessons."

It took all I had not to burst out laughing at the thought of Emmett—all six foot five inches of him—taking ballet lessons. Edward _had_ to work up the courage to ask me out. Not only would I most definitely say yes, but his brother would have to suck it up and put on a leotard. At least, I hoped that's what a male dancer had to wear. I'd be damned if I didn't want to see that too!

"Five ballet lessons?"

"You want me to shave my head!"

"Okay, okay, that should all be beginner stuff, right?"

"Right." Edward paused and after I heard what came from his mouth I imagined a thoughtful look on his face. "Although, I'm trying to imagine you in a recital."

"Oh, no!" I could imagine Emmett's face at the mention of him actually appearing in a recital. The word 'horrified' would cover it. "I think five lessons versus a shaved head is more even. Not that it matters 'cause you're so going to be bald, geek boy!"

Edward was probably nervous because he was still quiet. "Come on man, get her out of your system and ask her out. I don't think you'll be the laughing stock of the entire school. Bella isn't like that. If she says no, at least you will be able to get on with your life. I don't think she'll make fun of you for asking her out."

"No sabotage."

"Aw man, that's like, half the fun!"

"Emmett!" I heard a bang and wondered if one of them kicked or punched something. "This is going to be hard enough as it is. Please, no sabotage."

"Okay, Chicken Shitward, no sabotage. Is it a deal?"

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this." Edward sounded defeated again.

"You have nothing to lose." Emmett started laughing and choked out his following words. "Except your hair." I heard Edward growl and Emmett's continued laughter. "I'll give you two weeks from today to work up the courage to ask Bella out."

Edward would _not_ be losing his hair if I had anything to say about it. No the fuck way!

"Fine." Edward agreed to the bet but didn't sound very happy about it. "We have a deal."

Hearing a shuffling of footsteps, I backed my way into the girls' bathroom and waited for them to leave. I only heard one set of footsteps walk away. Holding my breath, I dared to quickly glance around the corner and spotted Edward with his back to me. His shoulders were slumped and his head was raised to the ceiling.

"Stupid, stupid idea," he mumbled. "She's going to laugh at me _and_ I'm going to end up bald."

_Oh, no you aren't, damn it!_

Shaking my head, I brought myself back to the present. "So, Alice, what are you doing after school today?"

"Um, nothing," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Why?"

"Why don't you come over to my place and we can talk more about this?" She stared at me suspiciously, her eyes almost closed into slits. "We gotta get you back on the man bandwagon! How will I ever find out if I know someone that would be good for you if I don't get to know you more?"

"I don't really know if I'm up for dating someone yet." Her voice was so sad when she spoke.

"What about making friends?"

Alice cracked the slightest of smiles. "I might be able to manage that."

Walking over to where my back pack landed, I picked it up and dug out a notebook from it. I wrote down my address and handed it to her. "If you can find a way to come over, that's where I live. I have to take the bus home."

Examining the paper, Alice folded it and placed it into one of her many pockets. "Why don't I just drive you?"

Later that day, I learned that Alice owned the yellow Porsche that I had started to see appear in the school's parking lot. It was sweet. On the ride to my house, my thoughts turned back to Edward and the last two weeks that led up to today. I tried talking to him in Chemistry but he was more nervous than usual. I could see that he was going to have a hard time growing a pair and asking me out. God, what the hell was it with boys? If it wasn't for the stupid bet, I'd gather the courage to ask him out. For the last two weeks I had tried to encourage Edward to talk to me. Otherwise, he'd be bald and Emmett would be laughing his ass off at Edward's expense. I liked Edward's hair and didn't want him to have to shave it all off.

That afternoon Alice opened up more to me. She had been really devastated when she learned that Tyler had cheated on her during most of their relationship. Alice loved to go into thrift stores to find bargains and good finds. She liked most music but enjoyed alternative rock and country the most. I also learned that she was originally from Mississippi and longed for a good southern-style meal.

"I _have_ to introduce you to Jasper."

She nearly choked on the water in her glass. "Whitlock? Jasper Whitlock?"

"One and the same."

"Isn't he your ex?"

I shrugged non-chalantly. "Jasper and I did date. So? We parted on good terms and we're still friends. We realized we weren't compatible, but since we're still friends, people thought we dated for a lot longer than we did. He's a good guy. The best there is."

"I can't meet him." She shook her head back and forth and set the glass on my nightstand. "I can't talk to him."

"Why not?"

"No, I just can't."

"Mary Alice!"

"Shut up, mother!"

"Why can't you talk to Jasper?" I asked before something dawned on me. "Wait, do you have a crush on him?"

"Not really a crush, but I've always thought he was cute." She paused and ground her head into her hands. "I embarrassed myself in front of him and an entire class of guys in ninth grade."

I slapped my hands together in anticipation of an embarrassing story that didn't involve me in the starring role. "Oh, do tell!" Alice glared up at me with a scowl on her face. "Drop the deets, girlie!"

She straightened up and rolled her eyes at me before continuing. "In ninth grade I took a drafting class as an elective. There were only four girls in the class and the rest were all guys. Even the teacher was a guy. One of the guys was teasing me about something and taped a piece of paper up on the wall. He didn't put it high enough, and I was able to remove it."

"How is that embarrassing?"

"Oh, I haven't gotten to the good part yet." Alice took a sip of water before continuing. "He made a comment about me reaching the offending piece of paper and I _meant _to say 'I'm taller than you thought' which is stupid because I'm so short, but what came out was 'I'm tighter than you thought'. I was mortified. Everyone was laughing at me. My nickname for the rest of the year was 'Tight'."

Unable to help myself, I started laughing at Alice's confession. "I'm sorry, I know you were probably embarrassed as hell over that. Jasper was in the class?"

"Yes," she said, wringing her hands together. "He was one of the twenty-odd guys who heard me make a fool out of myself."

"Honey, if he even remembers that, I'm sure he doesn't care." I knew she wasn't convinced. "I think you two might hit it off if given a chance."

"Oh, no, I'd be too embarrassed."

It was funny to learn how a silly incident from four years ago still affected Alice. From her exterior personality, it didn't seem like something so small would still bother her. My cell phone beeped and I picked it up.

_You home?_

It was Jasper. Smiling idiotically to myself, I quickly texted him back.

_Low on minutes. Call me on my bedroom phone._

Yeah, I lied. Grabbing both our glasses, I made a hasty retreat toward the door. "I'll be right back with some more water."

Halfway down the stairs I heard my phone ring. "Alice! Can you answer that please? I don't have an answering machine."

Not wanting Alice to kill me, especially over something so small such as talking to Jasper over the phone for a minute or two, I didn't waste any time getting back upstairs. I refilled our glasses with ice and water and then high tailed it back to my room.

When I reentered Alice was still sitting on my bed with the phone to her ear. "Oh, hold on, here she is now." She removed the phone from her ear and passed it to me. "Before I kill her."

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Drama queen."

"Pushy bitch!"

Laughing, I put the phone to my ear. "You there, J?"

"_Yeah," he said. "Since when have you been friends with Mary Alice Brandon?"_

"She goes by Alice and um, since like, earlier today." Alice was watching me from her position on my bed. She was frozen in place. I mouthed the word "relax" to her, but it didn't seem to help. "What's up?"

"_I found that movie that you wanted to see. Want me to bring it over?"_

"Oh, yeah, bring it over, will ya?" Alice's eyes grew as big as saucers and she crossed her hands back and forth in front of her while she mouthed the word "no" over and over again. "Alice, you want to stay and watch a movie with me and Jasper?" Alice didn't answer, but fell back against my bed with her arm covering her face.

"_Is, um, she going to be there to watch the movie?"_

"Yeah, I think she's going to stay for the movie, J."

"_Okay, cool, I'll be over in a few minutes."_

I counted myself among the lucky when Alice didn't immediately lung for my neck with her bare hands as soon as I hung up with Jasper. "He'll be over in a few minutes."

Alice jumped from my bed faster than I had ever seen anyone move before. "I've got to go."

I ran to my door and blocked it. "Oh, no you don't! You're not going anywhere! Stay and at least say hello to Jasper."

Alice turned and glanced out my window. "Fuck, where are trees with good sturdy branches when I need one?"

"Visiting another sap," I said. "Jasper is a nice guy, Alice. Just meet him again. If he should say anything stupid I give you permission to slap him. Hell, I'll slap him myself."

"Do you promise?"

I held up my hand with only my middle finger raised. "Scouts honor."

Alice crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Bitch, I'm sure that's not the Scout salute."

"Do I look like a fucking Boy Scout to you?"

"Only post-sex change."

"Drama queen."

"Pushy bitch."

Downstairs I heard footsteps on the porch, followed by a knock and the creaking of the door opening. "Bella? Where are you?"

"In my room!" I yelled down to him. "We'll be right down!"

Alice freaked. I mean, like, frozen in place and shit. I calmed her down and knew she really had a crush on my boy J. Alice washed her face and used some of my make up for a more natural look before we went downstairs. Jasper was never big on over done make up or hair. I wished I had something for Alice to change into, but I hoped that Jasper would overlook Alice's dark clothing and would catch a glimpse of the Alice I saw today.

I went down the stairs first, and Alice followed right behind me. When Jasper heard us, he came out of the living room to greet us and smiled up toward us. He had a great smile. Sometimes it killed me that we were only friends, but then I was reminded of Edward's green eyes, reddish brown hair, fucktastic smile, and shy but smart ass sense of humor. Not to mention his lips. Damn, if they didn't feel wonderful against mine, I didn't know what would.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, he opened his arms and embraced me in a tight hug. "He asked me out today!" I whispered in his ear. Of course I had to tell Jasper about Edward. We told each other everything.

"No shit?" He released me from his grasp. "Good luck with that and keep me updated. Let me know if I have to break any of his bones."

"I really don't think you'll have to resort to that!"

Jasper released me from his grasp, and I heard Alice clear her throat behind me. "Oh, hey, Alice, what's up?" Jasper asked with his Texas drawl in full effect.

"Considering my height, everything."

"Cute." He smiled at Alice and they both blushed. Jasper blushed? Wait, what the fuck was going on? Maybe I was correct about Jasper and Alice getting along!

As it turned out, Alice didn't need much convincing to stay for the movie. Actually, she asked what Jasper brought over and instigated going into the living room. Being that we were comfortable with each other, Jasper frequently put his arm around the back of the couch or around my shoulders. I was used to it and didn't find it to be uncomfortable at all. What I found peculiar was when halfway through the movie I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Jasper had placed his other arm around Alice's shoulders while she was chewing the hell out of her bottom lip.

I excused myself to the kitchen for more liquid refreshment and decided to give the two of them a minute alone. I wondered where Edward would take me on our date Saturday night. Not that it mattered much—I just wanted to spend time alone with him. In the last two weeks I had tried repeatedly to get him to open up and talk to me. As the deadline to ask me out drew nearer, I was more and more nervous about Edward losing his lovely head of hair. I had to do _something_, but what?

I used my knowledge of Edward's tutoring schedule to my benefit. Okay, so I also had a small talk with Angie. I made her pinky swear not to squeal to Edward about anything that I was going to tell her. After she agreed to the terms, I confessed that I knew about Edward and Emmett's bet and that I wanted to help Edward win. I never told her why, but I guessed that she knew my reasoning. If she didn't, she'd know soon enough.

Angie told me that she'd get Edward in the library that afternoon under whatever false pretenses she could manage. While I figured it was under the guise of tutoring someone, I wasn't one-hundred percent certain, so I stayed back until I was sure no one else was going to show up. I don't know how I managed to do it, but I got him to talk to me. He walked me to my truck and finally opened up about the stupid bet. I tried not to sound overly enthusiastic when he asked me for my help.

Things couldn't have gone better today if we had planned every single little detail. Emmett's idiotic comments made me want to spew my food halfway across the room, but I kept myself in check. You know, 'cause spitting food like that chick in _The Exorcist_ ain't sexy and appealing.

I even surprised myself with how outgoing I appeared to be and hoped he didn't think I was a slut, especially after I kissed him for Christ's sake! He needed to get it through his thick skull that I liked him, and by the time Chemistry rolled around that afternoon, I knew he hadn't. Edward was normally early for class, but not this time. He almost walked in late, running into the classroom and bashfully taking his seat next to me. I wrote my phone number on a piece of paper and slid it across the table toward him. "I mean it. Call me because we're going out Saturday."

Picking up the paper, he glanced at it quickly before slipping it into his back pocket. "Bella, you don't have to do this for me. I'll figure out something with Emmett."

I don't know where my sudden boldness came from, but I leaned toward Edward and took his hand in mine. "I thought you said that you had a crush on me," I whispered so no one else would hear me.

Edward's gaze was transfixed on the lab table. "I do." His voice was trembling nervously as he spoke.

I slid closer and leaned up against him, my chin resting on his shoulder. "Edward, I like you. Deal with it."

In his free hand he gripped a pen which appeared to be in danger of being snapped in half. "I just… I… uh… I…."

He was going to give himself a damn heart attack. "I don't bite, unless you want me to." I daringly moved forward and placed a kiss against his neck. At the same moment he gripped and squeezed my hand that was still in his. "You got the girl; now don't blow it by being an idiot."

"I just didn't think… I… that… I mean, you really like me?" Edward did this nervous laughing, twitchy, stuttering thing that was kind of weird but entirely endearing at the same time. "It makes me nervous that you know how I feel about you." The words flew out of his mouth quickly like word vomit.

"Yes, I do like you and since class is starting I'm going to wait to tell you on Saturday all the reasons why I like you." Mr. Banner made an announcement for us to settle down and started passing out papers. I squeezed Edward's hand and then let it go.

I had the urge to say "So there" and stick my tongue out and give him a raspberry, but I didn't think that'd be as endearing as his nervous laughing, twitchy, stuttering deal he had going on. The test was hard enough as it was, but then I had to deal with Edward's leg bouncing up and down off the leg of his chair. He never did that before. I did that to him. I made him so nervous he couldn't sit still. It was somehow empowering even if I did want to smack him and tell him to knock it the fuck off.

When I walked back into the living room I noticed that Jasper had paused the movie. He was turned toward Alice's direction, sitting closely to her with his arm still around her and they were whispering to one another. I was ready to turn and leave when Alice spotted me and said something to Jasper which caused him to turn in my direction.

I rejoined the soon to be love birds on the couch, and it didn't take me long to notice that Jasper never put his arm back around me. He did have his arm around Alice, though. I didn't pay attention to the rest of the movie. I was too engrossed in being happy for Jasper and Alice and thinking about Edward. I was anxious about seeing him tomorrow and for our date on Saturday. Smiling to myself, I imagined it was Edward sitting next to me on the couch with his arms wrapped around me.

_Hey, yo, big guy up there! Make it happen, 'kay?_ This was as close to a prayer as I ever got. _Dear father who art in heaven, hollow by thy name or something…please let Edward be less nervous around me! I really like him and want to give us a shot at something real. Amen and whatnot._

Oh, that have better worked or I was going to be royally pissed!

* * *

**A/N:** Let me embarrass myself by telling you all this:

**TRUFAX**

In the 9th grade I was in a Drafting class that had like twenty guys and four girls. One of the guys that I was kind of friends with, Brice, put something up on the wall in reference to a guy that I had a crush on. I went and managed to remove the offending piece of paper and he said something like, "Damn, I didn't think you'd be able to get that" and I meant to reply with "I'm tall" but instead "I'm tight" was what came out. Very loudly. And the entire class heard. Surprisingly, this did not earn me any dates. And yes, my nickname was "Tight".


End file.
